Aspar travels to GP of Japan

MAPFRE Aspar press release

MotoGP Season Enters Final Stage

Hector Barbera, Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP

Photo by: Bridgestone Corporation

MAPFRE Aspar team head to Japan with high hopes after excellent Aragon result

The first sign that the season is drawing to a close comes this weekend as the teams pack their bags for the first of three 'flyaway' races on the other side of the world. Natural disasters saw the Grand Prix of Japan postponed for the second successive season, meaning it now takes place this weekend as round fifteen of eighteen, followed in quick succession by races in Australia, Malaysia and Valencia. It is the most punishing period of the season and it is also when the main prizes are dished out, with the MotoGP title in particular close to being decided: Casey Stoner holds a 44-point lead over Jorge Lorenzo with a maximum of 100 points up for grabs.

After finishing ninth at Misano and eighth in the most recent race at Aragon MAPFRE Aspar rider Héctor Barberá is gradually establishing himself as one of the men to watch in MotoGP. The Spaniard and his team are in excellent form and the results are testament to their continually improving relationship. Motegi holds mixed memories for Héctor, who suffered a serious injury there during his 250cc career but has since enjoyed some good races at the Japanese track.

Héctor Barberá: “Motegi is a very special circuit for me, firstly because I had my first big injury there but came back to recover and continue with my life and my career when things could have turned out a lot worse. I also have great memories of Japan because I took some of my first wins there and I have a lot of admiration for the Japanese people. To go there now and put on a show for them is a good way for us to help out with the difficulties they are going through. Motegi is a balanced track with some hard braking zones, which I love, and I think that with the form we are in it would be a good weekend for. Thanks to the great job the team is doing we are consistently fighting to be the top Ducati and the objective is to continue with this level of consistency. I feel very highly motivated.”